The late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once made an interesting comment about focus. He said suppose you took an outside stack of old newspapers, papers that would easily go up in flames with the right input and a magnifying glass on a sunny day. If you took that glass and you slowly moved it around in an unfocused way, nothing would happen. But if you carefully allowed the magnifying glass to stay at the same place—in a focused way—it could easily cause a fire (if that was your goal). We accomplish little if we remain “wandering generalities” as opposed to becoming “a meaningful specific.”

It’s easy to get distracted by many things. In modern times, we are overstimulated, over-exposed, and over-saturated—often with wordy things. In such a context, it is easy to forget what truly matters—listening to Jesus. In this passage, Martha and Mary have Jesus over as a dinner guest. Martha gets frustrated that she is doing all the work, while Mary is just sitting there listening to the Master. So Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Instead, Jesus commends Mary for simply listening to God’s Word. We need to focus on what God has to say for us. We need to focus on His purpose for us, which may be different during different phases of our lives.

Whatever pressing activities we may feel obligated to do, it is most important that we always center our lives by spending time with Jesus. Remember this: If you’re too busy to pray, you’re too busy.

Lord, thank You for inviting us to sit at Your feet and listen. Forgive us for being slaves to “the tyranny of the urgent.” Instead, help us to focus on that which is important, beginning with spending time with You…